WASHINGTON, D.C. - Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson today announced that $1,925,000
in federal funds for City of Omaha and City of Lincoln public works projects was
approved Thursday by the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee as part of the 2004
VA/HUD appropriations bill that funds the Veterans Administration and the
Department of Housing and Urban Development and other items.

The City of Omaha has been awarded $875,000 for North Omaha revitalization projects,
including $250,000 for a North 24th Street Corridor Revitalization project and
$625,000 for a North Omaha Housing Initiative. The City of Omaha also has been
awarded $675,000 for sewer separation projects including $300,000 for separation
of combined sewers and $375,000 for construction of combined sewer separation
systems. The City of Lincoln has been awarded $375,000 for construction of
combined sewer separation systems.

The City of Omaha is undertaking a project to "return 24th Street to its historic
place as the main street of North Omaha". The enhancement of the street landscape
and attractive public destination spaces will make North 24th Street the backbone
for revitalizing N. Omaha. New residential and commercial developments will tie
together the public and private investment made in ongoing redevelopment projects
adjacent to the corridor. The "Housing Initiative" portion of the project will
remove deteriorated structures and reuse vacant lots in an effort to create 25
new affordable housing opportunities.

The City of Omaha's combined sewer separation program will separate storm and
sanitary sewers that are over 100 years old and serve approximately 1/3 of the
City's residents. Wet weather conditions result in discharge of untreated wastes
into the environment and residents’ basements. A plan to separate the system
began in 1990 as a back-up prevention program and has expanded in to a more
aggressive approach to separate as much of the system as is economical. Since
1990, 78 projects have been completed or are in the construction phase. The
majority of the separation work has been scheduled for the eastern portion of Omaha.

“Now more than ever, this infusion of federal dollars is critical to Omaha's
redevelopment efforts. It allows the city to aggressively pursue improvement
plans ranging from new business to affordable housing to streets and sewer
separations. It's important the great momentum generated by our Missouri Riverfront
redevelopment is not lost but rather pushed into our neighborhood communities
and smaller business districts. This funding helps make that happen in particular
in our redevelopment work on the North 24th
Street corridor,” said Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey.

The City of Lincoln will use the $375,000 of funding toward upgrades to the
Theresa Street wastewater treatment facility, which currently serves two-thirds
of the city. The upgrades are the most immediate need in the City's Capital
Improvement Program's comprehensive effort to address the City's aging water
infrastructure system which serves Lincoln's existing neighborhoods.

“The Lincoln community is very pleased that the Senate Appropriations Committee
concurs that Lincoln's sewer system is in need of repair, and we are grateful to
Senator Nelson for his attention to this vital matter," said Lincoln Mayor
Coleen Seng, "We are hopeful that the EPA budget ultimately approved by Congress
contains sufficient funds for this project."

The 2004 VA/HUD Appropriations bill will now go to the full Senate for consideration.